reader | writer | snarky introvert

Menu

Calendar

Psalm 73:21-26...
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[a] of my heart and my portion forever.

Acts 20:24...However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Jeremiah 29:11...For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

‎1 Thessalonians 5:16-18...Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Exodus 14:14...The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Galatians 6:17...Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Subscribe

Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.

Mark Twainisms

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

“Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other.”

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

“Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”

“When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.”

Blog Stats

39,937 hits

What Am I Afraid Of?

…of snakes. They creep me out to the point that I harbor a somewhat irrational fear of them, even at the zoo when they are enclosed in a cage. In fact, I won’t post a picture here because just looking at them gives me the heeby-jeebies.

…of spiders. Same as with snakes, it’s a fairly irrational fear, in the sense that it includes even the most innocuous spiders. Granted, the black widow and the brown recluse are scary adversaries, as is the tarantula. But a Daddy Longleg? Ok, I confess that he is the only one who doesn’t cause me to break into a cold sweat.

…of public speaking. I am a pianist, and I’m able to perform past the nerves until I relax, but having to stand up and speak, make eye contact, and interact with an audience in that way gives me a level of anxiety that, so far, I have been unable to conquer. I’m an introvert at heart, so if I can just write what I mean to say, thankyoueversomuch.

…of dying. It’s another irrational fear, yet I somehow can not help the anxiety I feel when I think of it. And it’s not that I don’t know where I’m headed. I do, but that leads me to fearing…

…that I don’t have enough faith, substantial faith, saving faith. And that leads me to fearing…

…that I am an inadequate parent. That my inadequacy is what will, in the end, thwart the efforts we make toward parenting more children. Which leads me to fearing…

…that I won’t ever have another child. That the efforts we have taken, are taking, and will take won’t be enough. That it won’t ever happen, and that I will not know how to be ok with that.

Trying to live with these fears is crazy hard. Trying to live without them requires a level of faith that I strive for continually. I have it some days, but there are more days that I don’t, and I need to be reminded that God can do anything, and that includes shoring up my inadequate faith.

Mark 9:14-29…14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out[d] and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”[e]

Post navigation

7 thoughts on “What Am I Afraid Of?”

Those are most of my fears except I hate insects and I am afraid of getting stuck upside down on roller coasters and hate elevators! Also afraid of being inadequate. Maybe that’s every women? Loved your post. Great writing.

Thanks. One thing I didn’t list was being afraid of getting stuck in a tight space that I can’t get out of, or feeling like I can’t move or catch my breath. In which case, underwater spelunking is NOT for me. 🙂

I don’t know whether you would find it helpful, but Bryan Kaplan has an interesting new book out: Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun than You Think. He discusses nature vs. nurture (using twin and adoption studies, mostly) and argues that (1) a lot of parents today make parenting into a monumental task that involves a lot more work than it needs to, and (2) mostly the children will turn out however they turn out anyway, no matter what we do; so we may as well relax.

For an economist, I think he’s a funny writer. I don’t think he’s 100% right, but I think he’s probably right about a lot of it.

It’s not exactly Mark or First Peter, but it might be helpful as far as it goes!